Kuldeep wins Impact Player award as India clinch ODI series against West Indies

Kuldeep Yadav was named Impact Player of the Series after India defeated West Indies 2-1 in the ODI series. The left-arm wrist-spinner took seven wickets and became the fastest Indian spinner to reach 200 ODI wickets

New Chandigarh:  Left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was named the winner of the ‘Impact Player of the Series’ award following India’s 2-1 ODI series victory over the West Indies. He earned praise from team physiotherapist Yogesh Parmar for putting his body on the line and achieving major milestones during the series.

Kuldeep emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the three-match series with seven scalps, including a four-wicket haul in Thiruvananthapuram. He also became the fastest Indian spinner to cross the 200-wicket milestone in men’s ODIs.

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“First of all, congratulations for winning the series. The award goes to someone who has consistently performed throughout the series. He has also got 200 wickets in ODI format. So that’s another achievement and he is also the highest wicket-taker for this series.

“As we discussed, he has always stood up and performed exceptionally well and he has always put his body on the line and this award goes to Kuldeep Yadav,” Parmar said in a video posted on BCCI’s social media accounts on Sunday.

Accepting the honour, Kuldeep credited senior batters — captain Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma — for setting up matches with the bat. He also reflected on how the preparatory camp in Thiruvananthapuram helped him hit peak rhythm ahead of the series.

“Firstly, congratulations for the series win. A lot of credit goes to Shubhi, Virat bhai, KL bhai and Rohit bhai, especially with the bat. This award really means a lot to me because before the start of the series, we had a couple of sessions in Trivandrum.

“Then I felt like I was in a very, very good rhythm. I just wanted to continue that rhythm into the games as well and luckily, it went really well. So this is very special. Thank you,” he said.

Kuldeep will next be seen in action when India take on the West Indies in the T20I series opener in Lucknow on Tuesday. The two teams are scheduled to play four more matches in Ranchi, Indore, Hyderabad and Bengaluru on October 9, 11, 14 and 17, respectively.